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Easthaven
Easthaven is a large city-state found at the mouth of Easthaven Bay, in the west of the Great Eastern Plains. It is known for its prestigious trading company and wealth. History and Culture Easthaven was originally built as a centre of trade of the Old Empire and the gateway to the countries of the east. It was constructed on a massive scale, with huge walls encircling the city and the trade roads running through the desert running right past the city. As well as the land trade, Easthaven was situated so that it could access by ship the strip of ocean known as the Gulf of Coin, meaning that trade with the nations of Selvan, Kuldan, Orkay and Bruanon was easy for the city. When the Empire began to decline, Easthaven was the prize they tried to hold onto for longest, and after the fall of Sharhaven, Easthaven became the capital city of the Empire. However, during a short and brutal war with Kuldan, the city was surrounded. The last of the old emperors fled north and disappeared, and Easthaven was declared territory of Kuldan. However, a number of wealthy merchants refused to hand over the city as the emperor had, and great riots took place in the city streets. A number of wizards also took part in the conflict, and the armies of Kuldan were defeated, resulting in international humiliation for the sultan of Kuldan. The city was declared independent of any outside influences, although trade with the other nations continued. It did not take long for the city-state to realise that this was their greatest asset, and a number of wizards and merchants formed the basis of the Easthaven Trading Company, which used ships, magic, camels and caravans to import and export all manner of goods to and from the city. Today, Easthaven has continued along this vein, and supply the entire known world with their goods, from the Savage North to the Seven Empires. The city is ruled by a council of magi, who take little role in their leadership, resulting in a great deal of association of the official government of Easthaven with the trading company. Easthaven is a terribly divided city, with obscene displays of wealth in the higher districts to horrific squalor and poverty in the expansive slums. This is evident in the guardforce of Easthaven (which is also their military). For example, in the rich districts, the red stripes ensure that crime is at an absolute minimum, with little to no corruption and a swift and vengeful attitude to criminals (usually execution). In the slums, the guards are usually a combination of untrained militia and corrupt thugs in uniform, many of whom are in league with thieves' guilds or working for local crime bosses. Most of the inhabitants of the city live in poor conditions, although the distribution of wealth is such that travellers see only the wealthy upper quarters. Racially, Easthaven is a complete melting pot of cultures. Although humans dominate the society, various other races make up almost half the city's population, from elves and dwarves to more alien creatures such as giants and goblins. The slums are particularly notorious for gangs of orcs or bugbears, often operating as guardsmen or as militia. The magi who rule the city turn a blind eye to the crime and poverty in the poorer areas of Easthaven, resulting in power being given to local cartels and criminal guilds. Slavery is illegal in Easthaven, although many ship captains native to the Seven Empires smuggle human cargo through the port every day, under the nose of the overseers of the city. Strangely, control of the city's port does not rest in the hands of the government, but rather the Trading Company, resulting in monopolies on products in short supply. Easthaven is also famous for its massive size; the city is among the largest in the known world. The usual traffic of caravans every day outside the Bronze Gate means that the city's total population is almost impossible to calculate, as it fluctuates rapidly from day to day. The current archmage of the city is known as Tarkenbrand, and is by reputaion extremely powerful. In the Campaign The party travelled to Easthaven in order to locate the mercenary Jack Morgan and his amulet. They entered the city via the Bronze Gate, and got into a scuffle with a dwarf named Walton, before they entered the Easthaven Trading Company Headquarters. There they interrogated Vandred, Erys and Corvale before locating the slayer Mah'lok in the sub-basement area. After a brutal conflict, Morgan was freed, although Vandred and Mah'lok both survived. Later, Hanu, Viserys and Iskander returned to further question Corvale. Viserys also used the opportunity to try and kill the kobold Tarnish by replacing a barrel of fish with an exploding barrel of dogshit. Category:Countries Category:City-States